Friday

World Supersport

With the winter and official tests complete, the highly anticipated first round of the 2024 Supersport World Championship is now underway at the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia.

In cool and cloudy conditions, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing and its rider Can Oncu completed today’s free practice in eleventh place, having set a fastest time of 1’32”974. The new championship format means that Friday afternoon involves a forty-minute Superpole session, which establishes the grid positions for Saturday’s race. With a time of 1’32”887, Oncu improved on his morning’s best to finish twelfth overall. As a result, he will line up on row four of the grid for tomorrow’s race which will run over a distance of 18 laps, with a mandatory tyre change to be completed between the eighth and tenth lap.

Phillip Island – Australia
Supersport World Championship
Free practice: 1) Manzi (Yamaha) – 2) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 3) Huertas (Ducati) – 4) Montella (Ducati) – 5) Sofuoglu (MV Agusta) ………… 11) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Superpole: 1) Huertas (Ducati) – 2) Montella (Ducati) – 3) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 4) Manzi (Yamaha) – 5) Debise (Yamaha) – 6) Mahias (Yamaha) …… 12) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu

“The weather didn’t help us today. This morning, we focused on bike setup and then this afternoon, just as I was pushing to improve on my best time, it started to rain. Twelfth on the grid is not the result I hoped to achieve, but it won’t prevent us from running a good race. We have the potential to do it. I want to thank the team for all their hard work.”

World Superbikes

The time has finally come and, after significant preparation, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing and its rider Tito Rabat are finally on track at Phillip Island, Australia, for the first round of the 2024 Superbike World Championship.

Today’s schedule involved two free practice sessions but this morning brought rain, just as the first session was able to start, which meant that the riders only took to the track a few minutes before the end of the season, once the track had dried. Of the few laps he completed, Rabat’s best time was a 1’32”404.

Rain also hindered progress during the afternoon’s session, with riders waiting for a long while for the track to dry. Rabat initially improved on his best lap by a few tenths, before doing more in the final stages and setting a 1’31”341 to round out the day in twenty-first place.

Tomorrow will see the Spaniard return to the track for Superpole and, later in the day, the first race of the season, which will run over a distance of 20 laps with a mandatory tyre chance to be completed between lap nine and eleven.

Phillip Island – Australia
Superbike World Championship
Combined free practice results: 1) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 2) Bulega (Ducati) – 3) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 4) Petrucci (Ducati) ………21) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat

“Rain caused us to lose precious time and prevented us from completing our entire schedule of work. The team and I are working hard to adapt the bike to this track, which offers a lot of grip but wears the tyres quickly. Tomorrow we’ll try to complete a strong Superpole because I don’t really know what to expect in the race, also with the tyre chance. We’ll do our best as always and see what where we end up.”

Saturday

World Supersport

The second day of action making up round one of the Supersport World Championship has now concluded at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.

Yesterday saw Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Can Oncu taking part in free practice and Superpole, a session in which he placed twelfth with a time of 1’32”887.

That qualifying result meant that he started today’s race from the fourth row of the grid. The 18-lap race also included an obligatory tyre change, which needed to be completed between laps eight and ten.

Can made a strong start when the lights went out, but luck was not on his side. Another rider hit Can through one of the first corners and he crashed as a result, with damage to his bike preventing him from being able to continue.

Phillip Island – Australia
Supersport World Championship
Race 1: 1) Montella (Ducati) – 2) Manzi (Yamaha) – 3) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 4) Caricasulo (MV Agusta) – 5) Bayliss (Ducati) – 6) Sofuoglu (MV Agusta) …..… DNF) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu

“I’m disappointed and very sorry about what happened today. Unfortunately, a rider hit me through one of the first corners and caused me to crash. The bike was damaged in the incident and so I couldn’t continue. A real pity because I’d made a good start and had the pace to score a good result. I can’t wait for tomorrow when I already have chance to make up for the disappointment of today. I’ll do all I can to give the team the best possible result.”

World Superbikes

There were cloudy skies and cool temperatures at Phillip Island today as the first WorldSBK round of the 2024 season continued.

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat was on track for practice yesterday, working hard to set up his Ninja ZX-10RR KRT Factory Replica and setting a best lap of 1’31”341. Back on track this morning for FP3, the Spaniard improved (1’30”047) before tackling the Superpole, which established the starting grid for the afternoon’s race. Tito further improved on his lap time (1’29”809) to close twentieth.

As a result, he lined up on row seven of the grid for the afternoon’s race, which ran on a dry track but under cloudy skies. The twenty-lap race also involved a mandatory tyre change between laps nine and eleven.

Rabat made a good start and was able to make up ground early on. His tyre change went perfectly and, once back on track, Tito got into a good rhythm and was able to cross the line in eighteenth place, not far from the points zone.

Phillip Island – Australia
Superbike World Championship

Superpole: 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Iannone (Ducati) – 3) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 4) Aegerter (Yamaha) – 5) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 6) Locatelli (Yamaha) ……… 20) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 1 – 1) Bulega (Ducati) – 2) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 3) Iannone (Ducati) – 4) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 5) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 6) Aegerter (Yamaha) ……… 18) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat

“We are constantly improving but are not yet where we should be. In race 1 I was unlucky because I wasn’t able to overtake a slower rider and that caused me to lose contact with the group immediately ahead. Once I got past him, we touched and I came close to crashing. The tyre change went perfectly, and I want to thank my team. We’re losing ground through the fast section of the track and are working on the electronics to try and remedy this. We’ve taken some good steps forward, but we need to continue to work to be able to achieve the goals we’ve set ourselves.”

Sunday

World Supersport

The final day of the opening WorldSSP round at Phillip Island ran in warm and sunny conditions. Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Can Oncu finished yesterday’s Superpole in twelfth place, while his race was compromised by a crash for which he was not to blame, another rider making contact with him shortly after the start.

Today the young Turkish rider took part in the second and final race of this Australian round. Thanks to a new rule that sees the Race 2 starting grid established based on the best lap times riders set in Race 1, Oncu got away from row five. With oil on the track, the start was delayed and the race reduced to just nine laps. The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider made a good start and was lying twelfth through the initial laps. His pace increased as the race went on, but unfortunately, he was forced to take evasive action in the final stages to avoid another rider. Oncu was able to return to the track and cross the line sixteenth, just missing out on points that he definitely deserved today.

The next WorldSSP round is scheduled to take place on 22-24 March at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit in Spain.

Phillip Island – Australia
Supersport World Championship
Race 2: 1) Montella (Ducati) – 2) Schroetter (MV Agusta) – 3) Huertas (Ducati) – 4) Caricasulo (MV Agusta) – 5) Debise (Yamaha) – 6) Sofuoglu (MV Agusta) …..… 16) Oncu (Kawasaki)

Can Oncu

“Starting from row five in a race that runs over just nine laps makes everything more difficult. I started strong and got into a good rhythm, making up places, but unfortunately, in the final stages of the race, a rider who had crashed came back onto the track without checking who was coming and I had to exit the track to avoid hitting him. Beyond the result itself, these two races have shown that we have the potential to do well, but also that we need to continue working to improve, which would allow us to fight for the win every weekend.”

World Superbikes

The first 2024 WorldSBK round has concluded today at Phillip Island in Australia. In cool and sunny conditions, Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider Tito Rabat took part in the Superpole Race and Race 2. Yesterday the Spaniard finished twentieth in Superpole before crossing the line eighteenth in Race 1.

This morning Tito started from the seventh row of the grid in the Superpole race, which ran over a distance of ten laps, and finished in nineteenth place.

Race 2 was suspended on lap four after a crash for another rider. The restarted race consisted of only eleven laps, at the end of which Rabat crossed the line sixteenth, just missing out on the points zone.

The next WorldSBK round will take place on 22-24 March at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit in Spain.

Phillip Island – Australia
Superbike World Championship

Superpole Race: 1) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 2) Locatelli (Yamaha) – 3) Razgatlioglu (BMW) – 4) Bautista (Ducati) – 5) Bulega (Ducati) – Gardner (Yamaha) ……. 19) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Race 2 – 1) Lowes (Kawasaki) – 2) Bautista (Ducati) – 3) Petrucci (Ducati) – 4) Iannone (Ducati) – 5) Bulega (Ducati) – 6) Rinaldi (Ducati) ……… 16) Rabat (Kawasaki)

Tito Rabat

“Today we completed two short races in which we didn’t much time to make up positions. In the Superpole Race I didn’t find good pace while in Race 2, thanks also to a change that the team made to the bike, I was able to move up to sixteenth but, more importantly, was able to maintain a good pace. We’re working hard and will continue to do so in the tests we’ll complete in March, which will hopefully see us take another step forward. I want to thank the team for all their hard work this weekend.”